Promotion of condoms is "irresponsible and ineffective," pro-life leader says

Madrid, Spain, May 10, 2007 / 12:31 pm (CNA).- The director of Fundacion Vida in Spain, Manuel Cruz, said this week the campaign by the Ministry of Health to promote the use of condoms among young people is "irresponsible and ineffective," as they do not reduce teen pregnancy but rather "increase high-risk behavior exponentially."

"It is undeniable that condoms frequently break, they increase high-risk behavior exponentially, they lead to more pregnancies and infections year after year, they don’t prevent sexually transmitted diseases one hundred percent, and they don’t completely prevent unwanted pregnancies," Cruz said.

Likewise, Cruz criticized the Ministry of Health for its inability to reduce the number of abortions in Spain. He said the government agency is only interested in promoting condemns, "which fosters a spiral of hedonism that ends in more promiscuity, and therefore, in more abortions and in an increased spread of sexually transmitted diseases."

"The Ministry of Health and its promotion of the condom in a new campaign offers no solutions for unwanted pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS, and therefore is part of the problem," he added.

According to Fundacion Vida, a recent study by the magazine "Sexually Transmitted Infections" showed that 31.3 percent of men surveyed said condoms have failed them during sexual relations.

The study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, also showed that the condom is not effective in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.